Janice Kapp Perry, a Latter-day Saint songwriter, never imagined she would write 3,000 songs throughout her lifetime, even though her parents and siblings were all talented musicians.

“Our home was always full of music,” she told the Church News. “My siblings and I were a mixed quartet. And so we loved to sing and play our instruments around the piano.”

She also enjoyed athletics as a child and played on many sports teams through her college years, but she eventually decided to study music at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. She met her husband in a clarinet workshop during her sophomore year at BYU, when, right before her midterm performance, a handsome returned missionary in her class nudged her and said, “I was just thinking those lips were made for something better than playing the clarinet.”

“I promptly forgot everything I knew about the clarinet and squeaked and squawked my way through,” she recalled. The man, Douglas Perry, would become her husband a year later, and they would have five children in the years to come.

Janice Kapp Perry in a 1958 photo while dating her future husband, Douglas Perry, at BYU.

Courtesy Janice Kapp Perry

A ‘magical’ writing career

Janice Kapp Perry’s writing career started when she broke her ankle playing basketball at age 40. While she was recovering from her injury, Perry’s bishop asked her to write music for a local roadshow. Although she had never written music before, she decided to give it a try.

“I started writing all the music for the roadshow. And something magic started in me,” she said.

Her music won the “Best Music” award at the roadshow. At the next year’s roadshow, Perry worked with Merrill Jensen — her stake roadshow director, who would go on to arrange music for many Church films and projects — to record her music in an official studio. Perry borrowed $10,000 for the recordings from her friends and family, half of which was donated by her mother.

Perry described the first time she heard her music on a record player, saying, “And when I put that on and played it, I was just — it was magic to me. I just couldn’t believe it.”

Faith-filled music

Her family also helped Perry with her music. Her children, their friends and others sang the songs in her first album, “Where Is Heaven?“ The very first Church song she wrote, “I’ll Follow Jesus,” featured artwork from her younger brother, Gary. Her older brother, Jack, then paid to have the song published.

Janice Kapp Perry with her family at her home in Provo, Utah. Janice (seated), her daughter Lynne Christofferson, husband Douglas and her three sons, John, Steve and Robb, Nov. 18, 2004.

Stuart Johnson, Deseret News

She described the first time her family heard her song, saying, “And so they listened all the way through, and nobody said anything. And I looked up at my husband, and he was wiping tears from his eyes. He said, ‘That’s the start of something big, sweetheart. And I’m going to support you all the way.’”

She created one of her first Primary songs, “I Love to See the Temple,” on a request from her stake Primary president. The song rapidly gained popularity and is known by Latter-day Saint children all over the world today. The song holds a special significance for Perry because it reminds her of one of her children, Richard, who lived for just eight hours after his birth.

“‘I Love to See the Temple’ reminds me of the baby we lost, you know, because we’re sealed in that temple,” she explained. “And we mentioned that he’s ours. And we have that to look forward to. We have one for sure in the celestial kingdom.”

Testimony that ‘means everything’

She wrote another popular children’s song, “A Child’s Prayer,” initially as a song for adults. As Perry was going through a difficult health challenge, she “wanted [the Lord] to come for me, I guess and what He might say to me.”

She then had the idea to write the song instead for children to learn about prayer. The song was later given the number one spot on an LDS Living Magazine article of the 100 most popular Latter-day Saint songs, and Perry wrote a version of the song for the Tabernacle Choir to sing.

Although Perry has received many more honors throughout her musical career, such as singing with the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square and receiving a Doctor of Christian Service and Music honorary degree from Brigham Young University, she cites her testimony of the gospel and the Lord’s hand in her life as the reasons for her successes.

“I know that the Lord will use us, even if we have not much talent, because I didn’t know I had any talent for writing music. ... It’s just this total knowledge that from everything I hear and feel. And especially when I write about it, I feel it. And it’s me, it’s in me — in me, and through me — and means everything to me.”

Janice Kapp Perry receives the music award during the Star Awards held at the SCERA Center for the Arts on Feb. 23, 2013.

Scott Hancock